1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to prescription medicine. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method of and system for labeling containers of prescribed medicine.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Those of ordinary skill in the art and laypersons alike are well aware of labels which are found on containers of prescribed medicine. Typically, a label on a container of prescribed medicine will contain information such as the name of the patient; the name of the medicine and the dosage particulars; the name of the prescribing doctor; the quantity of medicine in the container; the expiration date of the medicine; a code which identifies the medicine manufacturer; a prescription number; the prescription date; the name and address of the pharmacy which filled the prescription; and a UPC code which can be used by the pharmacy to automatically identify the prescription in its computer system.
Despite the specific patient identifying information found on containers of prescribed medicine, when distributing medicine to a large number of patients, such as in hospitals and nursing homes, patients often receive the wrong medicine. To combat this serious problem, some hospitals and nursing homes take photographs of their patients and include the photographs in the medication administration record (MAR) used to record the administration of medicine. In this way the nurses administering the medicine are provided with means to help ensure that a patient does not receive the wrong medication. These photographs are also sometimes attached to the medication cart itself, such as on a drawer, or on the divider cards used to segregate the patients' medicine. These methods, however, are laborious, time consuming, highly inefficient and potentially dangerous.